USPS Raises Rates, Launches Same-Day Service

Price Of First-Class Stamp To Increase By One Cent

Oct 16, 2012 – by Counselor

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has announced new prices and additional services for 2013. As of January 27, the price of a first-class mail stamp will increase by one cent to 46 cents. Postcards are also facing a one-cent price increase, reaching a cost of 33 cents apiece. The USPS also said that prices for all products (mailing and shipping services) will increase by an average of 4%, but prices for regular letters and advertising matter, will increase by 2.6%.

The postal service, though, is offering a new service that will be attractive to global mailers. It will introduce a Global Forever Stamp, which will cost $1.10 and will allow customers to mail letters to anywhere in the world for the price of one stamp.

Separately, the USPS announced this week that it is trial-testing a new same-day delivery service, as it tries to capitalize on e-commerce and faster delivery needs from customers. Next month, it will launch a one-year market test for same-day delivery service in San Francisco, and target up to 10 ecommerce companies and their associated retailers. The USPS will conduct the same-day delivery testing with an experimental competitive product called Metro Post, which is a package delivery service that provides customers with same-day delivery from participating locations within a defined metropolitan area.

USPS spokesman John Friess said that packages must be picked up by 2 p.m. and they will be delivered between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Friess said San Francisco was chosen as the first market test site due to the city's population density and the number of potential delivery areas. Prices for the same-day delivery service, though, have yet to be determined.